Rush-hour CTA train injures man

May 30, 2001

CHICAGO — A 28-year-old man was critically injured Tuesday and rush-hour traffic on three CTA elevated lines was stalled for about 45 minutes when the man was hit by an Evanston Express Purple Line train on the North Side.

The victim, whose identity was not released, was struck by the northbound train near the Diversey Parkway station about 7:20 a.m., said Maria Toscano, a CTA spokeswoman.

The accident snarled the morning commute for thousands of travelers when police ordered power shut to electrified third rails in the area while officers investigated, Toscano said.

Electricity was cut to all four "L" tracks through the area, she said. The outage affected trains of the Purple, Red (Howard-Dan Ryan) and Brown (Ravenswood) lines, which use the tracks.

Power was restored at 8:05 a.m., and trains resumed running, Toscano said.